HINDUSTAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND

SCIENCE
PADUR, CHENNAI - 603 103
May 2018

Design and Fabrication of

Emergency Medical Air Support Vehicle

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by
AYYAPPA REDDY G
(14103015)
IMMANUEL LOUIS
(14103018)
RONEY RAJAN GEORGE
(14103019)
SIDHARTH SATHEESH KUMAR
(14103042)

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

Of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
In
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

i
 DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

SCHOOL OF AERONAUTICAL SCIENCES

HINDUSTAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND
SCIENCE
PADUR, CHENNAI - 603103
MAY 2018

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
Certified that this project report titled “Design and Fabrication of

Emergency Medical Air Support Vehicle”, is the bonafide work of

AYYAPPA REDDY (14103015), IMMANUEL LOUIS (14103018),

RONEY RAJAN GEORGE (14103019) and SIDHARTH SATHEESH

KUMAR (14103042) who carried out the project work under my

supervision. Certified further that to the best of my knowledge the work

reported here does not form part of any other project / research work on

the basis of which a degree or award was conferred on an earlier occasion

on this or any other candidate

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR

DR. DILIP.A.SHAH Mr. Rajesh
Assistant Professor
Department of Aeronautical Engineering Department of Aeronautical Engineering
Hindustan Institute of Technology & Hindustan Institute of Technology &
Science, Padur Science, Padur

The Project Viva-Voce Examination is held on _______________

ii
 AKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final shape of this project required a lot of effort, guidance

and support from many people. We feel privileged to have got this all along

the completion of our Bachelor degree project on Design and Fabrication

of Emergency Medical Air Support Vehicle. It is a privilege to

acknowledge those people who supported, encouraged and inspired us to

complete our project work for the partial fulfillment of our Bachelor

degree. Our gratitude always starts with the Almighty, who gave us the

vision and strength to achieve our goals. We thank our parents and family

for being us in all the thick and thin.

We offer our very sincere gratitude to Dr. Dilip. A. Shah, Department Head

of Aeronautical Engineering for providing us with the necessary support

and facilities to carry out this project work.

We would like to express a deep sense of gratitude to our internal guide,

Mr. Rajesh, Asst. Professor, Department of Aeronautical Engineering,

Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, for his exemplary

guidance, monitoring and endless inspiration throughout every stage of this

project. We would also like to thank all the teaching and non-teaching staff

in the Aeronautical Engineering Department and our dear friends, for their

kind support to carry out our project work successfully.

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 ABSTRACT

The genesis of this project was to explore various fields of innovation

where unmanned aerial vehicles can play a crucial role in helping the

world. Knowledge on the ability of drones gave rise to new way of thinking

where these systems can be deployed for life saving - time bound

emergency medical missions, delivering blood bags and snake anti-venom

on a quick notice.

Henceforth the project bore the name Emergency Medical Air Support

Vehicle.

Learning that the VTOL tilt rotor configuration in unmanned aerial

vehicles helps in swiftly operating in tight spaces, EMAV can undertake

time bound missions for medical industry. Flight trials have proven the air

worthiness of our equipment and we take pride in introducing aeronautical

systems in the field of medicine for saving human lives.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE

NO NO.

Abstract iv

List of Tables xi

List of Figures viii

List of Symbols xiv

List of Abbreviations xvi

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Motivation 3
1.3 Project Objectives 4
1.4 EMAV Design Requirements 4
1.5 Thesis Organization 4
1.6 Summary 5

2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction 6
2.2 Existing VTOL Aircraft 6
2.3 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 6
2.3.1 Fixed Wing UAVs 7
2.3.2 Rotorcraft UAVs 7
2.3.3 VTOL UAVs 8
2.3.3.1 Tilt Rotor 8
2.3.3.2 Quad Plane 9
2.3.3.3 Tilt wing 10
2.3.3.4 Tail Sitter 10
2.4 Comparison Of Various VTOL Configurations 11
2.5 UAV Applications 12
2.5.1 UAV Applications In Healthcare 12

v
 2.6 Conclusions From Literature Review 14
2.7 Summary 14

3 DESIGN
3.1 Introduction 15
3.2 EMAV Design Concept 15
3.2.1 EMAV Flight Control in VTOL Mode 16
3.3 Weight Estimation of Airframe 17
3.4 Fixed Wing Design 18
3.4.1 Airfoil Selection 18
3.4.2 Wing Aerodynamic Calculations 18
3.4.2.1 Wing CL Calculation 19
3.4.2.2 Wing CD Calculations 21
3.4.2.3 Lift Required For Steady Flight 23
3.4.2.4 Wing Loading 23
3.4.3 Propeller Calculations 24
3.4.3.1 Propeller Pitch Speed 24
3.4.3.2 Propeller Reaction Force 24
3.4.3.3 Propeller Slipstream 25
3.4.4 Horizontal Tail Sizing and Placement 25
3.4.4.1 Moment Evaluation 25
3.4.4.2 Tail Moment Arm & Horizontal Tail Area 26
3.4.4.3 Moment Balance 27
3.4.4.4 Downwash Angle 27
3.4.4.5 Downwash Angle Estimation 28
3.4.5 Conversion Of Standard Tail to A-tail 31
3.4.6 Control Surface Sizing 31
3.4.6.1 Aileron Sizing 31
3.4.6.2 Rudder and Elevator Sizing 32
3.4.7 Fuselage Sizing 32
3.4.8 EMAV Total Drag Approximation 32
3.4.9 Straight & Level Flight Analysis 33
3.4.10 Climbing Flight Analysis 34

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 3.4.11 Turning Flight Analysis 34
3.4.12 Design Of Fixed Wing Airframe 36
3.5 VTOL System Design 37
3.5.1 VTOL Geometry 37
3.5.2 Reaction Force Balance 37
3.5.3 Thrust Required For VTOL 39
3.6 Fixed Wing and VTOL Integration 40
3.6.1 Motor Management & Tilt 40
3.6.1.1 Vertical Take Off Mode 40
3.6.1.2 Transition Mode 40
3.6.1.3 Fixed Wing Mode 41
3.6.2 CG Alignment Of VTOL and Fixed Wing Systems 41
3.6.3 Tilt Mechanism Design 42
3.6.3.1 Tilt Mechanism Geometry 42
3.6.3.2 Tilt Mechanism Torque Calculation 42
3.7 Summary 43

4 MODELLING AND FABRICATION

4.1 Introduction 44
4.2 Modelling 44
4.2.1 Airframe Modelling 44
4.2.2 Tilt Mechanism Modelling 46
4.3 Fabrication 48
4.3.1 Fabrication Of Airframe 49
4.3.1.1 Fabrication of Airfoil 49
4.3.1.2 Fabrication of A-tail 49
4.3.1.3 Fabrication of Booms & Fuselage 49
4.3.2 Fabrication of Tilt Mechanism 50
4.3.2.1 Fabrication of Frame Sides 50
4.3.2.2 Fabrication of Frame Reinforcement 52
4.3.2.3 Fabrication of Inner Tilt Mechanism 52
4.4 Summary 52

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5 ELECTRONICS AND AVIONICS
5.1 Introduction 53
5.2 Electronics 53
5.2.1 Brushless Motor 53
5.2.2 Electronic Speed Controller 54
5.2.3 Power Supply 54
5.2.4 Tilt Servos 55
5.2.5 Standard Servos 55
5.2.6 Transmitter / Receiver 55
5.3 Avionics 56
5.3.1 Flight Controller 56
5.3.1.1 Pixhawk V 2.4.8 32-bit 56
5.3.1.2 Control Architecture 56
5.3.2 GPS Module 57
5.4 Pixhawk Wiring & Setup 57
5.5 Summary 60

6 TESTING
6.1 Introduction 61
6.2 Pre Flight Testing 61
6.2.1 Verification Of CG Location 61
6.2.2 Control Surfaces Testing 61
6.2.3 ESC Calibration 62
6.2.4 Tilt Mechanism Testing 62
6.3 Initial Flight Testing 63
6.3.1 VTOL Mode Testing 63
6.3.2 Forward Flight Testing 64
6.3.3 Transition 64
6.4 Conclusions from Testing 66
6.5 Summary 66

CONCLUSION
7.1 Introduction 67

viii
7.2 Limitations of EMAV 67
7.3 Future Enhancements and Conclusions 68

REFERENCES 69

ix
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Title Pg.

no no
2.1 Comparison of Various Healthcare Delivery UAV Systems 13
3.1 Empty Weight Estimation 17
3.2 Wing Specifications 18
3.3 Propeller Specifications 24
3.4a Calculated Data For Geometric Figuring 36
3.4b Miscellaneous Airframe Data 37
3.5 Motor Parameters 40
5.1 Port Functions 59
5.2 Port Programming and Mapping 59

x
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Pg.

no no
2.1 The Hunter RQ-5A in Service 7
2.2 The Bell Eagle Eye Tilt Rotor UAV 9
2.3 TURAV Tilt Rotor UAV 9
2.4 A Quad plane for Multiple Flight Modes 10
2.5 A Zipline UAV being Catapult Launched 13
3.1 EMAV Flight Phases 16
3.2 Flight Control in Rotor Mode (a) Roll, (b) Pitch, 16
(c)Thrust, (d)Yaw
3.3a CL v CD 19
3.3b CL v Alpha 19
3.4 Variation of Lift Curve Slope with AR 20
3.5 Values of 𝜏 & 𝛿 for Varying AR 20
3.6 Parabolic Polar Approximation 21
3.7 CD v Alpha 22
3.8 Nomograph 23
3.9 Slipstream Effect 25
3.10 CM v Alpha 26
3.11 Effect of CG location on Stability 27
3.12 Effect of Downwash on tail 27
3.13 Wake Created due to the Wing 29
3.14a NACA report no 648 29
3.14b NACA report no 648 29
3.15 Tail Angle of Attack Relative to Downwash 30

xi
3.16 Aileron Sizing (NACA report no 605) 31
3.17 Forces on Airplane during Level Turn 35
3.18 Fixed Wing Airframe Dimension’s 36
3.19 Ideal Tricopter Configuration 38
3.20 Modified Tricopter configuration 39
3.21 EMAV 2d Design 41
3.22 Tilt Mechanism Working 42
4.1 Fuselage 45
4.2 Clark - Y wing 45
4.3 Vertical tail 45
4.4 Horizontal tail 45
4.5 Support Booms 45
4.6 EMAV Design Prototype 46
4.7 Frame Sides 47
4.8 Frame Reinforcements 47
4.9 Motor Tilt Mechanism 47
4.10a Tilt Mechanism Orientation for Fixed Wing Mode 0𝑜 48
4.10b Tilt Mechanism Orientation until Transition Speed 45𝑜 48
4.10c Tilt Mechanism Orientation for VTOL 90𝑜 48
4.10d Tilt Mechanism Travel above 90𝑜 for Yaw 105o 48
4.11 Folding Laminated Foam to Make Airframe Parts 50
4.12a Frame Sides (To be laser cut) 51
4.12b Frame Reinforcements (To be laser cut) 51
4.12c Motor Tilt Mechanism (To be laser cut) 51
5.1 Motor, Esc and Power System Selection Flow Chart 53

xii
5.2 The control structure. Pc, Ac and Tc represent the 57
position, attitude, and thrust command respectively. Vc
represents the virtual control command. Fw represents
the fixed-wing mode. PWM: pulse-width modulation
5.3a Pixhawk Side Ports 58
5.3b Pixhawk peripheral ports 58
6.1 The EMAV vertically taking off 63
6.2 The EMAV hovering 63
6.3 The EMAV in forward flight mode 64
6.4 The front motors of the EMAV tilting forward for 65
transitioning as captured by an onboard camera
6.5 The EMAV after transitioning successfully to forward 65
flight

xiii
 LIST OF SYMBOLS

Symbol Description

CL Coefficient of lift
CD Coefficient of drag
CM Coefficient of pitching moment
𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑑 Coefficient of lift at minimum drag condition
𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑑 Coefficient of drag at minimum drag condition
𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑝 Coefficient of lift at minimum power condition

𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑝 Coefficient of drag at minimum power condition

e Oswald's efficiency factor

n Load factor
L Lift
M Moment
N Newton
𝑆𝑊 Surface area of wing
𝑆𝑇 Surface area of tail
T Thrust
W Weight
𝑉 Velocity
𝑉𝑚𝑑 Velocity at minimum drag
𝑉𝑚𝑝 Velocity at minimum power

𝛼 Angle of attack
𝜌 Density of air
𝜀 Downwash angle
𝛱 Pi

xiv
 𝛿 Correction factor for angle of attack
𝜏 Correction factor for coefficient of drag
𝜑 Bank angle
𝛼𝑖 Angle of incidence of tail
𝛼𝑤 Angle of incidence of wing
A_vtail Area of V-tail
A_vertical Area of vertical tail
A_horizontal Area of horizontal tail

xv
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AOA Angle of attack
AR Aspect ratio
CC Clockwise
CCW Counter clockwise
CG Centre of gravity
EMAV Emergency medical air support vehicle
ESC Electronic Speed Controller
HTA Horizontal tail area
MAC Mean aerodynamic chord
RN Reynolds number
ROC Rate of climb
RPM Revolution per minute
RTL Return to land
TMA Tail moment arm
TX/RX Transmitter /Receiver

xvi
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been the focal point of attention
in the aerospace community for many decades owing to their wide range
of military and civilian applications. They have gained considerable
traction in recent years and serve as an excellent platform for surveillance,
research, agriculture, aerial photography, healthcare delivery and even
transportation. This can be attributed to their high performance, cost
effectiveness, ease of deployment, flexibility, accessibility and mainly
their ability to reach places which are simply inaccessible and even hostile
to humans. Although UAVs have varying characteristics, and come in
different shapes and sizes, the general consensus is that they are aircraft
capable of sustained flight without a human on board and which can either
be remotely operated or be semi or fully autonomous [1].

In general, UAVs around the world broadly fit into either the conventional
fixed wing category or the rotorcraft category, both of which have distinct
advantages and limitations. While the UAVs of the fixed wing type, in
general have longer flight times, speed and endurance along with high
payload capacities, they often need a runway or a launch system which may
not always be suitable or available. The UAVs of the multi-rotor type such
as quad copters and Tricopters, on the other hand are extremely easy to
deploy and have the ability to take-off and land vertically, but are plagued
by limited payload capacities and additionally suffer from short ranges,
flight times and high energy consumption.

The limitations associated with the aforementioned types become nearly

non-existent with the introduction of a fixed-wing Vertical Take Off and

1
Landing (VTOL) UAV that maintains the speed, range and endurance of a
fixed wing UAV while being able to vertically take off, land and hover like
a rotorcraft UAV. These fixed wing VTOL UAVs have caught the attention
of researchers and enthusiasts alike due to their potential for various
applications in multiple fields. However, these UAVs have mostly been
limited to military and research applications so far.

Of the many fixed wing VTOL configurations available, the tilt-rotor, such
as the one seen in the V-22 Osprey is the most promising due to its active
research in academic and industry fields. While other configurations such
as tail-sitter, tilt-wing and lift fan suffer from structural, control and
stability problems, the tilt rotor is highly stable and has excellent control
with the only major drawback being the added mechanical complexity
involved in the implementation of the tilting mechanism which is easily
outweighed by the aforementioned advantages [2, 3].

The prominent challenges involved in the tilt rotor configuration apart from
the propeller tilting mechanism, which must be capable of handling the
transition from horizontal to vertical flight and vice versa include achieving
consistent handling, and control and having dynamic stability throughout
the flight operation as the flight dynamics of the UAV is in a constant state
of flux during different speeds, altitudes and most importantly, during the
different flight modes.

All the existing healthcare delivery platforms around the world employ
either the fixed-wing or the rotorcraft UAVs for delivery [4, 5, 6], and as
such inherit many of the previously mentioned limitations inherent in those
systems in addition to being costly, inflexible and requiring additional
infrastructure in place. A major task in this project is to develop a fixed-
wing tilt-rotor VTOL UAV called the Emergency Medical Air-Support

2
Vehicle (EMAV) that is fully autonomous and which can deliver medical
payloads at a short notice. It would be a hybrid of sorts, combining certain
aspects of a Tricopter with that of a fixed wing Radio Controlled (RC)
aircraft and will have benefits of both.

1.2 Motivation
Delivery of medicines, blood, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, snake anti-
venom and other healthcare items have critical time restrictions in
healthcare. This critical nature may further be compounded by poor road
connectivity, isolated clinics, traffic congestion, and inaccessible roads
during natural disasters such as floods which happen every year. The
problem of logistics pertaining to the transportation of healthcare items by
road can easily be overcome by UAVs, which are mostly unaffected by the
aforementioned situations.

Of the many tasks and situations in which UAVs are put to use, it can be
safely argued that the most valuable application involves humanitarian
tasks such as search and rescue along with the delivery of critical
healthcare items to people in need.

Healthcare delivery UAV systems around the globe fall short in providing
a cost effective and viable platform that can carry the required payload,
take off and land vertically without the need for a runway whilst not
compromising on either the range or the flight time. The conventional
fixed-wing UAVs currently used, either airdrop their medical payloads via
a parachute or require a long runway which may not readily be available
and drastically adds to the operational costs while the rotorcraft UAVs
cannot be used for long range and high payload deliveries. Both these types
due to their glaring disadvantages, therefore cannot be used effectively in
either urban or rural settings in highly populated countries like India where

3
transportation infrastructure for delivering healthcare items is severely
limited.

The fixed wing tilt-rotor VTOL UAV, such as the one proposed in this
thesis has the ability to overcome many of the shortcomings of the current
systems and provides a viable platform for medical delivery in India since
no UAV systems or firms have developed or ventured into the medical
field.

1.3 Project Objectives

The project’s primary objective is to develop a fully autonomous fixed-
wing tilt rotor vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle,
capable of delivering emergency medical payloads. In order to achieve this
primary objective, the secondary objectives which must also be fulfilled
include:

1. Developing a tilting mechanism for safely transitioning between the

different flight modes.
2. Designing and fabricating a lightweight airframe.
3. Testing of different flight modes such as vertical take-off and
landing, hovering and transitioning.
4. Undertaking an autonomous medical mission.

1.4 EMAV Design Requirements

The design requirements of the initial prototype as envisaged in the project
are as follows:
1. To have a flight speed of 20m/s.
2. To withstand wind speeds up to 12m/s.
3. To carry payloads up to 350 grams.
4. To have a flight time of 40 minutes.

4
 5. To take off from a 5m ×5m patch of land.
6. To be fully autonomous.

1.5 Thesis Organization

The dissertation is divided into the following chapters for organizing
various aspects of the work done.

Chapter 1: This chapter discusses unmanned aerial vehicles, their

numerous applications in various fields especially the medical field, the
motivation for the project, objectives, requirements and organization of the
thesis.

Chapter 2: This chapter deals with the literature review and discusses
prior work related to the project.

Chapter 3: The various theoretical aspects and design choices regarding

the project are discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 4: This chapter deals with the modelling and fabrication of the
airframe and the tilt mechanism.

Chapter 5: The various electronic and avionic systems are discussed

along with their integration into the airframe in this chapter.

Chapter 6: This chapter deals with the testing of the various flight modes
and meeting the requirements.

Chapter 7: This chapter summarizes the whole work, and discusses the
future scope of this project.

1.6 Summary
The introduction, motivation, the various objectives, design requirements
of the project, and organization of the thesis are presented in this chapter.

5
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
A Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) enabled aircraft solves many of
the problems associated with traditional fixed-wing UAV systems for
healthcare delivery, such as the need for long runways and launching
platforms in addition to being completely flexible with regards to
maneuverability, performance ease of use etc. In this literature review, a
surface level overview of various existing fixed wing VTOL UAV systems
is presented along with recent developments and applications in the
relevant fields with major emphasis on the UAV systems presently used in
healthcare. In addition to this, it includes the study and research of existing
rotorcrafts and the methods commonly adopted for transitioning between
hover and forward flight. A summary of the primary conclusions from all
the previous studies is presented and thoroughly discussed with relevant
comparisons.

2.2 Existing VTOL Aircraft

Some of the most popular VTOL aircrafts in existence include the Bell
Boeing V-22 Osprey which has the distinction of being the world’s first
production ready tilt rotor aircraft, McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II,
Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter and the AgustaWestland
AW609.

2.3 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is simply an aircraft that operates
without a human onboard. They can be operated either by a human operator
with remote control or by onboard computers autonomously and therefore
have various degrees of autonomy. The earliest UAVs were unmanned

6
Austrian balloons that were loaded with explosives [7]. The Ruston Proctor
Aerial Target of 1916 was the first powered UAV, developed to be used
against the Zeppelin [8]. The broad spectrum of UAVs can be grouped
under either the fixed wing or the rotorcraft categories.

2.3.1 Fixed Wing UAVs

Most of the major military and civil UAVs in service are of the fixed wing
type. Some of the most popular military UAVs include MQ-Predator, RQ-
2 Pioneer, RQ-5A Hunter and RQ-4 Global Hawk, DRDO Nishant etc.
Figure 2.1 shows the Hunter RQ-5A in service.

Figure 2.1 The Hunter RQ-5A UAV in service with the US Army
[9].

Since the use of a runway is impractical in confined settings, the fixed-wing

UAVs are rarely used in urban settings. Also the recovery systems of fixed-
wing UAVs such as recovery nets, parachute systems, deep stall landing,
and in flight arresting devices during shipboard recovery are expensive
which further make these systems rather limited in scope [10].

2.3.2 Rotorcraft UAVs

Rotorcraft UAVs (also called multirotors or multicopters) make use of
fixed-pitch propellers to achieve flight for reduced complexity unlike
helicopters which use variable pitch rotors. These UAVs are generally
categorized based on the number of rotors, namely bicopter, tricopter,

7
quadcopter, hexacopter, octocopter etc. Although workarounds such as
coaxial configurations are employed to enhance their performance
characteristics, they fall short of fixed-wing configurations when it comes
to range, speed, and efficiency and flight times. Some of the most popular
multicopters include DRDO Netra, DJI phantom 4, Onyx Star FOX-C8 XT
Observer, DJI Spark etc.

2.3.3 VTOL UAVs

A VTOL enabled fixed-wing UAV provides the best of both worlds by
combining the performance aspects of a fixed-wing system with the
maneuverable and flexible aspects of a rotorcraft system. VTOL in fixed-
wing configuration can be achieved by many methods, of which some are
discussed below.

2.3.3.1 Tilt Rotor

The tilt rotor is one of the most popular VTOL methods and makes use of
multiple rotors/propellers which are tilted upwards by using a tilting
mechanism for vertical lift and hovering capability. In this setup, the vehicle
behaves as a conventional rotorcraft. These propellers are then tilted
forward to provide thrust, while the flow over the wing produces
aerodynamic lift and therefore the vehicle behaves as a conventional fixed-
wing aircraft. The Bell Eagle Eye (Figure 2.2), SMART UAV developed
by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and the IAI Panther are some
of the large-scale Tilt rotor UAVs developed [11].

The Bell Eagle Eye tilt rotor UAV is powered by a turbo shaft engine and
employs two transmission nacelles in addition to the two prop rotors for
transitioning from airplane mode to hover mode and vice versa [2, 12]. A
few of the smaller scale tilt-rotor UAVs include FireFLY6, Orange Hawk,

8
Falcon-V VTOL, Pigeon-V VTOL, TURAC (Figure 2.3) and TRON [11,
13].

Figure 2.2 The Bell Eagle Eye Tilt rotor UAV [12].

Figure 2.3 TURAC tilt rotor UAV [13].

The tilt rotor UAVs such as TURAC and FireFLY6 employ a tricopter setup
for enabling vertical flight and whereas TURAC makes use of a real coaxial
rotor in addition to the front rotors to balance out the unstable yaw moments
resulting from the latter rotors, the FireFLY6 employs all three coaxial
rotors in unison for stability. This is not the case in UAVs such as mini IAI
Panther which tilt their front rotors in a differential manner for balancing
the yaw moments. A setup such as the one seen in V-22 Osprey where dual
propellers/rotors are used for enabling both the flight modes with cyclic
control can also be employed.

9
2.3.3.2 Quadplane
A quad plane is a combination of a fixed wing aircraft and a quad copter. It
is built on top of a plane but adds control over 4 to 8 rotors thereby enabling
it to hover and vertically take off like a quad copter. A forward electric
motor or an internal combustion engine is generally used for enabling
forward flight once vertical lift is achieved. A quad plane is shown in Figure
2.4.

Figure 2.4 A Quad plane for Multiple Flight Modes [14].

Some quad planes which were developed by enthusiasts in the RC

community include the Fun Cub Quad plane using the Pixhawk flight
controller, Falcon Vertigo Hybrid VTOL RTF (Dropix) and the Volantex
Ranger-Ex Quad plane VTOL [15].

2.3.3.3 Tilt Wing

In this setup, the wing including the propellers/rotors is tilted vertically for
vertical flight and longitudinally for forward flight. The tilting mechanism,
when compared to the tilt rotor is complicated as it requires additional
strength. Some of the operational tilt-wing UAVs are the QTW (Quad Tilt
Wing) UAV and the Acuity Technologies AT-10 VTOL UAS.

10
2.3.3.4 Tail-Sitter
UAVs employing this setup contain a propeller or a ducted fan to provide
lift when the aircraft sits on its tail. The propeller is mounted at the nose,
wing or the tail. The examples of tail-sitters under development include
AeroVironment Sky Tote, CDADI VD200, TBS Caipiroshka and SiCX
300V UAV.

2.4 Comparison of Various VTOL Configurations

The tilt wing VTOL configuration, although simple in that it has the
propulsion system on the wing is mostly unsuitable for a fixed wing UAV,
as it requires a considerable part of the wing to be tilted which in turn
complicates the structural aspects of the tilting mechanism. The tail-sitter
configuration is mechanically less complex compared to other systems but
the control requirements such as the size and position of the control surfaces
relative to the vehicles Centre of Gravity (CG) and the distribution of the
slipstream velocity over the control surfaces prevent the implementation of
this configuration on a fixed wing UAV [2]. The Quad plane configuration
which is arguably the simplest of all the configurations to implement has
the major disadvantage that all the motors used for vertical takeoff become
in operational as all of the forward flight is achieved with the help of a
forward motor or an engine.

Finally, the implementation difficulty of a tilt-rotor configuration on a fixed

wing UAV is increased significantly by the complexity of the tilting
mechanism involved. This however is greatly outweighed by the freedom
associated with the placement of the tilting rotors which can be mounted on
various positions such as at the wing tip, inboard, before the leading edge,
after the trailing edge of the wing or even aft of the aircraft on the yaw axis
[2]. Moreover, most of the lift during forward flight is produced by the wing
leading to high speeds, range and endurance and the problem of high cost

11
due to in operational rotors and separate propulsion systems for VTOL and
conventional flight such as seen in the similarly viewed quad plane is not
present in a tilt rotor configuration, thereby making it one of the most
suitable configuration on a fixed wing UAV currently [3].

2.5 UAV applications

UAVs have found applications in a wide range of fields and situations of
which the most prominent involves using on board cameras for surveillance
tasks in a military context and videography/photography in a civilian
context. Other than that, UAVs are also mostly used for carrying and
delivering payloads and so have been used for humanitarian efforts like
food aids by the military apart from using them during combat. Different
industries which have found usage for UAVs include education, research,
agriculture, engineering, tourism, mining, construction, marketing, real
estate, entertainment, sports, healthcare etc. [16]. UAV applications to save
human lives is without a doubt the most useful as was evident during many
natural disasters where UAVs had been used to find, rescue and save human
lives. One such case was the 2015 earthquake in Nepal [17].

2.5.1 UAV Applications in Healthcare

UAVs in healthcare are commonly used to deliver pharmaceuticals,
defibrillators, contraceptives, blood and vaccines, mostly in remote
locations in poor countries that lack adequate roads. Some of the most
popular and well established companies in this field include Matternet,
DHL Parcel, Zipline, Flirtey and Delft University. All of the current
healthcare solutions around the world make use of either the fixed-wing or
the rotorcraft UAV systems to deliver healthcare materials, which further
need complex and expensive delivery and recovery methods such as
automated ground stations, parachutes, runways etc. [5]. One such launcher
system is shown in Figure 2.10.

12
A detailed survey and comparison of various healthcare delivery UAV
systems is listed in Table 2.1, It clearly shows that blood, vaccines and
medications are the primary items being transported by healthcare UAVs
whose launching and delivery methods are predominantly automated
launching pads called ground stations, sky ports, nests, paper parachutes
and ropes.

Figure 2.5 A Zipline UAV being Catapult Launched [18].

Table 2.1 Comparison of Various Healthcare Delivery UAV Systems

Drone Healthcare Launching Delivery Range Speed

company items method method (km) (m/s)

Matternet Blood/ Automated Automated 10 11

Medications ground ground
station station
DHL Blood/ Automated Automated 12 17
Parcel Medications Skyport Skyport
Zipline Vaccines, Nest Paper 72.5 40
blood parachute
Delft Defibrillators Hospital, Ground 12 26
University clinic landing

13
2.6 Conclusions from Literature Review
A discussion and review on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has shown
a number of limitations that plague the existing fixed wing and rotorcraft
systems and has brought to light the many benefits of a fixed wing VTOL
system which combines the speed, range and endurance of a fixed wing
system with the maneuverability, vertical takeoff and hovering ability of a
rotorcraft system providing the best of both the systems.

Moreover, a comparison of various fixed wing VTOL configurations has

shown the tilt-rotor configuration to be the most suitable configuration due
to its popularity, documentation, extensive research, controllability and
stability in vertical flight and as such can be chosen to be the best alternative
to current fixed wing UAV healthcare systems around the world which
either require a runway, an expensive launcher platform, parachute
dropping of medical payloads and other complex methods for both
launching and delivering.

2.7 Summary
In this chapter, an overview of existing fixed wing VTOL UAV systems is
presented in addition to the various VTOL configurations currently in use
along with their benefits and limitations. Moreover, the usage of fixed wing
and rotary UAVs, their glaring problems as a healthcare delivery platform
is brought to attention and a fixed wing tilt rotor VTOL UAV is discussed
to be a viable alternative. In the following chapter, the design choices made
regarding the Emergency Medical Air-Support Vehicle (EMAV) are
discussed in detail.

14
 CHAPTER 3
DESIGN

3.1 Introduction
The EMAV being a hybrid aircraft will incorporate both fixed wing aircraft
design, and VTOL design into one versatile platform. The tilt mechanism
will aid in the transition from vertical take-off / hover mode to horizontal
flight mode and vice versa. In order for this platform to be successful the
tilt mechanism must work in unison with the two flight modes.

This chapter will talk about the design of the two major components of the
EMAV, the fixed wing component and the VTOL component and how they
are both integrated into one airframe, with the help of a tilt mechanism.

3.2 EMAV Design Concept

Vertical Takeoff phase - All three rotors will be pointed up to provide
vertical thrust and plane takes off vertically as shown in figure 3.1c.

Transition phase - After a predetermined altitude is reached the forward

rotors will be tilted via the tilt mechanism to an angle of 60 degrees. Now
due to the angle there will be a horizontal component of thrust which will
begin to pull the plane forward, the plane will continue to accelerate until
stall speed is reached and the rear motor will continue to provide lift as
shown in figure 3.1b.

Fixed wing phase - Once stall speed has been reached the airflow incident
on the wings will be able to generate lift and the tilt motors will come to
the horizontal position as shown in figure 3.1a.

Transition back to VTOL mode can be done by following the same method
in reverse order.

15
 (a) (b) (c)
Figure 3.1 EMAV Flight phases. (a) Plane mode, (b) Transition
mode, (c) VTOL mode [11]
3.2.1 EMAV Flight Control in VTOL Mode
In the fixed wing flight mode the primary control surfaces aid in pitch, roll,
and yaw control. In VTOL mode pitch, roll, control is brought about by
varying the thrust of individual motors, and yaw control is achieved by
thrust vectoring of the individual tilt rotors as shown in figure 3.2. Apart
from this the aircraft will automatically weather cock into the wind to
reduce load on the motors.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 3.2 Flight Control in VTOL Mode. (a) Roll, (b) Pitch, (c)
Thrust, (d) Yaw

16
3.3 Weight Estimation of Airframe
The Weight estimation is done by adding up the empty weight, and the
payload weight, as shown in reference [19].
𝑊𝑜 = 𝑊𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑦 + 𝑊𝑝𝑎𝑦𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑 (3.1)
Empty weight estimation will be the net sum of the individual airframe
components. Refer to table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Empty Weight Estimation *

Component Weight (gram)

Standard Airframe 600g
Brushless motors 216g
Electronic speed controller 100g
Wires and Extensions 100g
Tilt servos 110g
Tilt mechanism 100g
Control surface servos 40g
Power supply 330
Avionics 110g
Net empty weight 1706g

The payload weight will be 350 grams, so the total weight will be around
2100 grams. Payload weight is chosen to be 350grams as it is the weight
of one small size blood bag. Instead of a blood bag EMAV can carry a
FPV system.

* For detailed information on components used in table 3.1 refer chapter 5.

17
3.4 Fixed Wing Design
The design phase will be broken into three major parts. The first part will
be the fixed wing design followed by the VTOL design and finally the
integration of both the components into one airframe with the help of a tilt
mechanism. Fixed wing design will give a detailed explanation on the
design process and calculations used to design the standard airframe.

3.4.1 Airfoil Selection

Clark - Y airfoil with chord length 0.18 meter was chosen on account of it
providing a CL of value 0.4 at AOA of 1.30𝑜 , this means the wing will not
need to be mounted at any incidence with respect to the fuselage reference
line as this angle of attack is small and can be reached by elevator
deflection, simplifying the design and fabrication process. A CL of 0.4 will
be necessary to maintain lift at EMAV cruise speed of 20m/sec. Apart from
this, the Clark- Y airfoil is also the easiest airfoil to fabricate. A chord
length of 0.18 meters and a wing of length 1.1 meter was chosen to provide
the required lift at cruising speed.

3.4.2 Wing Aerodynamic Calculations

Table 3.2 Wing Specifications
Airfoil Clark - Y
Chord 0.18m
Wing span 1.086m
Surface Area 0.19548m2
Aspect Ratio 6.03
Reynolds number at 20m/sec 253,396
Cruise speed 20m/sec

18
 𝑆𝑝𝑎𝑛2
Aspect Ratio of wing is calculated by using AR =
𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎
𝜌𝑣𝑙 𝑣𝑙
Reynolds number is calculated by using RN = = , where 𝜐 is the
𝜇 𝜐

kinematic viscosity of air at 1 atmosphere (𝜐 = 1.4207𝐸 − 5 𝑚2 /𝑠).

3.4.2.1 Wing CL Calculation

To find the CL for given AOA, Airfoil tools [20], is used to plot the graphs.
The graphs are plotted for elliptical lift distribution and correction factors
𝜏 & 𝛿 must be used.

(a) (b)
Figure 3.3 (a) CL v CD, (b) CL v Alpha

From the above CL v Alpha plot it can be seen that for 𝛼 = 0, CL = 0.42,
but this graph is plotted for elliptical lift distribution, (i.e. AR = Infinite).
The CL v Alpha slope will vary with AR as shown in figure 3.4.To find the
actual value of CL at 𝛼 = 0, for our wing with aspect ratio of 6.03, refer to
figure 3.5 to find the correction factor 𝜏. Once 𝜏 is found equation 3.2 can
be used to calculate true alpha at CL = 0.42, for a wing with AR = 6.
𝐶𝐿
𝛼 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 = 𝜗 + (1 + 𝜏) (3.2)
𝜋𝐴𝑅

𝜗 = 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 − 𝑧𝑒𝑟𝑜

19
𝜏 = 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

Figure 3.4 Variation of Lift Curve Slope with AR [21]

Figure 3.5 Values of 𝝉 & 𝜹 for Varying AR [22]

From figure 3.5 𝜏 = 0.17 for AR = 6, Now use equation 3.2 to find true
alpha for CL = 0.42. By substitution it is found that true alpha at CL = 0.42
is 0.025 radians.

A CL of 0.4 can be reached at an AOA of 0.022 radians or 1.30𝑜 . Hence

1
lift produced by the wing = × 1.225 × 202 × 0.19548 × 0.4 = 19𝑁
2

20
3.4.2.2 Wing CD Calculations
From reference [22], CD for the wing for an elliptical cross section can be
calculated as
𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝑑𝑜 + (𝐶𝐿 × 𝛼𝑖 )
𝐶𝐿
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝛼𝑖 =
𝛱𝐴𝑅

𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝑑𝑜 + 𝐶𝑑𝑖
𝐶𝐿2
𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝑑𝑜 + 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(Infinite AR)
𝛱𝐴𝑅

For calculating CD for non-elliptical cross section as in our wing (AR =

6.03)
𝐶𝐿2
𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝑑𝑜 + [1 + 𝛿]
𝛱𝐴𝑅

Where 𝛿 = 0.15 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐴𝑅 6 (value of 𝛿.from figure

3.5)
𝐶𝐿2
𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝑑𝑜 + [1 + 𝛿] Can be mathematically modelled as,
𝛱𝐴𝑅
𝐶𝐿2
𝐶𝐷 = 𝐶𝐷𝑓 + , (3.3)
𝛱𝐴𝑅𝑒

And CDf can be found by calculating component drags. For a wing CDf is
the minimum value of drag from CD v Alpha graph shown in figure 3.7

Figure 3.6 Parabolic Polar Approximation [24]

21
 Figure 3.7 CD v Alpha
Since we initially are only calculating the drag due to the wing and not
the entire airframe

For Clark-Y CDf = Cdo= 0.01, substituting this in equation 3.3.

𝐶𝐿2
Now to find
𝛱𝐴𝑅𝑒
1
𝑒 =
𝑘 ′′ 𝛱𝐴𝑅 +(1+𝛿)

K’’ = 0.010
1
𝑒 = = 0.807
(0.010×𝛱×6) + 1 +0.05

𝐶𝐿2 0.42
= = 0.0104
𝛱𝐴𝑅𝑒 𝛱×6.033×0.807

CD = 0.01+0.0104
CD = 0.0204
1
Drag due to wing = × 1.225 × 202 × 0.19548 × 0.0204 = 0.977N
2

22
3.4.2.3 Lift Required For Steady Flight
In order for the Lift produced by the wings to support the weight of the
plane at Straight and Level flight, Lift = Weight, Thrust = Drag. The lift
produced will be around 19N which will be able to support a weight of
19N. The Max thrust produced by the forward tilt rotors during fixed wing
flight will be around 18 N which will be more than enough to counter the
drag.

3.4.2.4 Wing Loading

Calculation of wing loading will enable the use of a nomograph which is a
graph that compares wing loading, CL and flight speed. Since we know
both CL and wing loading we can find the required flight velocity to provide
sufficient lift. Calculation of wing loading will enable the use of
nomograph to determine necessary flight speed.
𝑊
Wing loading = = 9.75 𝑘𝑔/𝑚2 (31.95 oz/sqft), and CL = 0.4.
𝑆

Figure 3.8 Nomograph [23]

23
From figure 3.8 for CL = 0.4 and W/S = 32oz/sqft, the flight speed
required to sustain lift will be 43 mph or 19.2m/sec, which is less than the
cruise speed.

3.4.3 Propeller Calculations

Table 3.3 Propeller Specifications

Propeller diameter 9 inches

Propeller pitch 4.5 inches
Motor Rpm 13750
Propeller type APC (constant pitch)

3.4.3.1 Propeller Pitch Speed

In order for the plane to reach a velocity of 20m/sec the propellers must
have a pitch speed high enough to pull the plane through the atmosphere.
The propeller pitch speed will give an approximate value of the aircraft's
velocity. See reference [21].
𝑅𝑝𝑚 × 𝑃𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠
Propeller pitch speed = = 26.19m/sec
60

Motor rpm is found by 1100 x Voltage = 13750. (Voltage 14.8V see section
5.2.3) Thus the propellers will be able to reach sufficient rpm to accelerate
the plane to its cruise speed. For higher speeds a propeller with higher pitch
can be used, but more amps will be drawn from power source.

3.4.3.2 Propeller Reaction Force

According to Newton's third law every action will have an equal and
opposite reaction, the action of the propellers spinning in one direction will
cause a reaction force on the airframe in the opposite direction, since this
is a twin propeller aircraft this force is easily countered by using a
clockwise prop in one motor, and a counter clockwise prop in the other
motor, the reaction forces cancel out each other during fixed wing flight.

24
3.4.3.3 Propeller Slip Stream
Due to the slipstream created by the propeller a yawing motion is created
on the airframe as shown in figure 3.9, Since this is a twin propeller aircraft
this force is countered by using a counter clockwise prop in one motor and
a clockwise prop in the other motor, so the yaw created by the slipstream
of one prop is balanced by the yaw created due to the slip stream of the
other propeller.

Figure 3.9 Slipstream Effect [23]

3.4.4 Horizontal Tail Sizing and Placement

3.4.4.1 Moment Evaluation

Since Clark- Y is a cambered airfoil there will be a negative pitching
moment CM about the aerodynamic center. Figure 3.10 shows the CM v
Alpha plot for Clark – Y airfoil, from figure it can be seen that at 𝛼 =
1
0𝑜 , 𝐶𝑀 = −0.095. Moment is calculated using M = × 𝜌 × 𝑣 2 × 𝑆 ×
2

𝐶𝑀 × 𝑐̅, so M = -0.81N/m, which will have to be balanced by the horizontal

tail.

For simplification of moment pattern ship design is employed [21], which

states the following.
i) The CG is on or Close to the wing lift center (1/4 MAC)
ii) With the wing on the CG the wing drag moment is non existent
25
iii) The moment due to thrust line is nonexistent as the motors are placed
at either sides of the CG at equal distances.

Figure 3.10 CM v Alpha

Also by placing the CG at ¼ Mac the aircraft will be inherently stable. This
assumes that the Neutral point will be around 35% MAC as shown in figure
3.11

Figure 3.11 Effect of CG location on Stability [23]

3.4.4.2 Tail Moment Arm & Horizontal Tail Area

From reference [21], for a TMA 2.5 times the MAC, Tail surface area 20%
of the wings is adequate.
2.5 × 𝑀𝐴𝐶 × 0.2 × 𝑆𝑤
𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑇𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = (3.4)
𝑇𝑀𝐴

𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑑 = 0.18

26
𝑇𝑀𝐴 = (0.18 × 2.5) = 0.45𝑚
𝑆𝑤 = 0.19548𝑚2
Horizontal Tail Area from equation 3.4 = 0.0391𝑚2 , for a tail placed at
0.45m from the ¼ MAC of the wing (also the CG location).

3.4.4.3 Moment Balance

In order to balance the negative moment of 0.81N created due the airfoil
𝐶𝑀
the tail must supply a down force of = 1.8𝑁
𝑇𝑀𝐴

To find the required CL of the tail, use lift formula

2 × 1.8
𝐶𝐿 = = 0.19
1.225 × 202 ×0.0391
The tail is basically just a flat plate and the value of CL for a flat plate is
given as CL = 2𝛱sin𝛼 (3.5)
Using equation 3.5 the angle at which the tail has to be placed to provide
the required CL of 0.19, can be determined.
0.19
𝛼𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 ( ) = 1.732𝑜 (3.6)
2𝛱

3.4.4.4 Downwash Angle

For the moment to be balanced the horizontal tail should be placed at an
angle of −1.730 relative to the free stream, but the wing will create
downwash which will change the angle of the free stream, as shown in
figure 3.12, therefore the downwash angle has to be taken into account
for positioning the horizontal tail. Apart from this the wing will also
produce a wake as shown in figure 3.13, care must be taken that the tail is
placed at a distance from the wake centerline, as the wake will reduce the
tail efficiency

27
 Figure 3.12 Effect of Downwash on Tail [21]

Figure 3.13 Wake Created by Wing [21]

3.4.4.5 Downwash Angle Estimation

From NACA report no 648, as shown in figure 3.14a and 3.14 b. The first
step is the location of the wake centerline at the tail so as to obtain wake
displacement H, with H and M found the wake centerline can be easily
located with respect to the horizontal tail. M in our case is 0.17metre

All X &Y axis values in figure 3.14b column 2 & 3 are in percentage
wing semi span

28
 Figure 3.14a NACA Report No 648

Figure 3.14b NACA Report No 648

Finding H
Wing semi span = 0.543m, now convert X (TMA), in terms of semi span
0.45
(X = 0.45) 𝑋 = = 0.828
0.543

From column 2 of figure 3.15b at X = 82% of semi span wake displacement

will be 8% of semi span with respect to horizontal for a C L = 1, but since
CL = 0.4, wake displacement 8 × 0.4 = 3.2% 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑛, therefore H
= 0.01737m or 1.73cm

29
Finding M
M is the height of the tail above horizontal, in our case M = 0.17m, M in
0.17 1
terms of semi span = = 0.31, So M + H = 0.187m > 𝑚𝑎𝑐 , so tail
0.543 2

efficiency > 0.9 as shown in figure 3.15b.Taking into consideration tail

efficiency actual down force tail will need to produce is 1.89N.

Downwash Angle
Refer to 3rd column fig 3.15b, At X = 80% and 34% semi span vertically
above wake, for a CL = 1, downwash angle between 4. 8𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 4. 2𝑜 ,
so 𝜖 = 4. 40 , But for CL = 0.4, 𝜖 = 4.4𝑜 × 0.4𝑜 = 1.76𝑜 . Therefore
Downwash angle is 1.76𝑜 and from equation 3.6 we know that horizontal
tail incidence is 1.732𝑂

The Horizontal tail angle relative to the downwash angle will be (figure
3.15) Tail incidence - Downwash angle = 1.732 − 1.76 = 0.03𝑂 so the
tail will need to be placed at an incidence of - 0.03degree. For a more
detailed explanation readers can refer to reference [21]

Figure 3.15 Tail Angle of Attack Relative to Downwash [23]

3.4.5 Conversion of Standard Tail to an A-tail

An A-tail is an inverted V tail, from reference [24] to convert a standard
tail to an A-tail

30
i) A_vtail = A_vertical + A_horizontal
ii) Angle = arc tan [sqrt (A_vertical / A_horizontal)]
Note: "A_vtail" is the area of both halves together. "Angle" is the V-tail's
dihedral angle from the horizontal.
A_vtail = 0.03162 + 0.0321 = 0.06𝑚2
0.03162
Angle = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛√ = 45 degree approx.
0.031

A-tail conversion is done to reduce the mechanical complexity and reduce

the drag caused by another Surface. Tail Aspect ratio is maintained
between 4 – 5.

3.4.6 Control Surface Sizing

3.4.6.1 Aileron Sizing

Refer NACA report no 605(figure 3.16), lateral control research by Wick
& Jones

Figure 3.16 Aileron Sizing (NACA report 605)

31
3.4.6.2 Rudder and Elevator Sizing
Since V tail is being used the rudder and elevator are combined into two
control surface called ruddervators. A ruddervator area 30% of A_V tail,
with an angular travel of 30𝑜 from neutral position is used.

3.4.7 Fuselage Sizing

The total length of the airframe is 1086 mm, Fuselage sizing for twin boom
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑔 × 0.75
configuration = = 400𝑚𝑚 𝑎𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥 (3.7)
2

Note that equation 3.7 cannot be used for all configurations, for standard
airframe design a value of 75% of the wing span is suggested.

3.4.8 EMAV Total Drag Approximation

In section 3.4.2.2 the drag due to the wing alone is calculated. In this
section a rough approximation of the total drag will be calculated. For
simplicity assuming the rest of the drag is only due to skin friction,
generalized coefficients from reference [22] can be used.

CD Fuselage = 0.13 / Fuselage max cross sectional area

CD Empennage = 0.008 / Surface area of tail
CD Motor mounts = 0.25/ Motor mount max cross sectional area

Fuselage max cross sectional area = 0.0096𝑚2

Surface area of tail = 0.03738𝑚2 + 0.03315𝑚2
Motor mounts cross sectional area = 0.0036𝑚2

Fuselage drag = 0.31N

Empennage = 0.138N
Motor mounts = 0.441N
Drag due to entire EMAV 0.889 N + 0.997N = 1.9 approx, where 0.997N
is the drag due to the wing alone.

32
3.4.9 Straight and Level Flight Analysis
From reference [25], Lift = Weight, Thrust = Drag, for straight and level
flight
1
L = W = × 𝜌 × 𝑣 2 × 𝑆 × 𝐶𝐿
2

2𝑊
Velocity to maintain lift = √ = 18.66𝑚/𝑠
𝜌×𝑆×𝐶𝐿

Velocity at stall = 11m/s

For minimum drag condition

𝐶𝑑𝑜
𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑑 = √
𝐾

𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑑 = 2𝐶𝑑𝑜
2𝑊
𝑉𝑚𝑑 = √
𝜌×𝑆×𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑑

𝐿 𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑑
(𝐷) =
𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑑

𝐶𝐷 = 0.01 + 0.0657𝐶𝑙 2
𝐶𝑑𝑜 = 0.01 , 𝑘 = 0.0657
So,
𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑑 = 0.39
𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑑 = 0.02
𝑉𝑚𝑑 = 18.89𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝐿
(𝐷) = 9.75
𝑚𝑎𝑥

Value of CLmd can be verified from CL v Cd graph in figure 3.3b

For minimum drag fly at 18.89m/sec at CL of 0.39
Stall speed = 12m/s at CLmax.

33
Min power condition
At 20m/sec Total Drag = 1.9N
3𝐶𝑑𝑜
𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑝 = √
𝐾

𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑝 = 4𝐶𝑑𝑜
2𝑊
𝑉𝑚𝑝 = √
𝜌×𝑆×𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑑

𝐿 𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑝
(𝐷) =
𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑑

𝐶𝐷 = 0.01 + 0.0657𝐶𝑙 2
𝐶𝑑𝑜 = 0.01 , 𝑘 = 0.0657
So,
𝐶𝐿𝑚𝑝 = 0.67
𝐶𝐷𝑚𝑝 = 0.04
𝑉𝑚𝑝 = 14.418𝑚/𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝐿
(𝐷) = 11.166
𝑚𝑎𝑥

For minimum power fly at Velocity of 14.418m/sec at CL of 0.67

3.4.10 Climbing Flight Analysis

From reference [25] for climbing flight
𝐿 − 𝑊𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = 0 & 𝑇 − 𝐷 − 𝑊𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 0
𝑇−𝐷
To find Climb angle = 𝜃 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 ( )
𝑊

Max Thrust= 20N, V = 20m/sec

(𝑇×𝑉) − (𝐷 ×𝑉)
Max rate of Climb = (3.8)
𝑊

From equation 3.8 Roc = 17m/s at a drag of 2N experienced at 20m/sec

3.4.11 Turning Flight

From reference [25] for a level coordinated turn and figure 3.17.
𝐿𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜑 = 𝑊
34
 𝑚𝑉𝑜2
𝐿𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜑 =
𝑅

R = turn radius
𝑉𝑜2
𝑅 = , 𝜑 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒.
𝑔𝑁𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜑

Figure 3.17 Forces on Airplane during Level Turn [25]

𝐿 𝑊𝑠𝑒𝑐𝜑
𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑠 = = = 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝜑
𝑊 𝑊

2𝑊𝑠𝑒𝑐𝜑
𝑉 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 = √
𝜌𝑆𝐶𝑙

𝐿 𝐿 𝐿
If the incidence is same, and CL is same thus ratio is same. = =
𝐷 𝑊 𝐿𝑜
𝐷
, 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑥 ′𝑜′ 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑆 & 𝐿 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐷𝑜

2𝑊
𝑉𝑜 = √ , 𝑠𝑜 𝑉 = √𝑁 × 𝑉𝑜
𝜌𝑆𝐶𝑙

𝑉2 𝑉𝑜2
𝑅 = =
𝑔𝑁𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜑 𝑔√𝑛2 −1

𝑉𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙 2
𝑅𝑚𝑖𝑛 = (3.9)
𝑔√𝑛2 −1

To find n, for a 13m radius turn, use equation (3.9), So n = 3.81 The wing
has to lift 3.81 times the original weight, i.e. the coefficient of lift must be
0.4 ×3 = 1.2 This is still below the Max CL of Clark -Y, so the turn would
be possible. Any turn with radius lesser than 13 meter is not suggested for
aircraft, as it will stall. EMAV will not be performing pull up, and pull
down maneuvers.
35
3.4.12 Design Of Fixed Wing Airframe
Up to this point all the geometrical calculations of the fixed wing frame
have been covered. A 2d sketch of the designed airframe is show in figure
3.18, and all airframe data shown in table 3.4a & 3.4b

Figure 3.18 Fixed Wing Airframe Dimensions (Dimensions in mm)

Table 3.4a Calculated Data for Geometric Figuring

Part Span (m) Chord(m) Surface Area Aspect Ratio
(𝒎𝟐 )
Wing 1.086 0.18 0.19548 6.03
A tail 0.520 0.11 0.06 4.5
Fuselage 0.43

36
 Table 3.4b Miscellaneous Airframe Data
Name Length (m)
TMA 0.450
Mean Aerodynamic Centre Wing 0.045m from LE
Mean Aerodynamic Centre Tail 0.025m from tail LE
Total Airframe Length 0.805
CG ¼ Mac (Aerodynamic center)
Neutral Point 35% Mac

3.5 VTOL System Design

This section will deal with the design of the VTOL system that will later
be incorporated into the airframe. The VTOL system must be designed
taking into consideration the fixed wing dimensions, in order to ensure
seamless integration of both the systems later on.

3.5.1 VTOL Geometry

The VTOL mechanism will be based on tricopter configuration and
geometry, for an ideal tricopter motor and CG placement should be as
shown in figure 3.19, but since we will have to integrate the VTOL system
into the fixed wing airframe, the geometry is slightly modified as shown in
figure 3.20. The original tricopter configuration is suggested, as it allows
for better overall weight distribution between the 3 motors and better
maneuverability.

3.5.2 Reaction Force Balance

Due to the propellers spinning in one direction there will be a reaction force
in the opposite direction, this force is also sometime called the torque
effect. In a Tricopter the reaction force will always remain unbalanced due
to the odd number of motors.

37
Refer figure 3.19, it can be seen that the reaction force due to motor 1 (CW)
and motor 2 (CCW) will cancel out each other, but there still exists a
reaction force due to motor 3 (CCW), which will tend to yaw the airframe
in the clockwise direction. Conventional tricopters cancel out this by
placing the rear motor inclined at an angle. For a more detailed explanation,
readers can refer reference [26]

EMAV does not counter this in the conventional way, but uses the tilt
mechanism to produce a counter yaw that cancels out the yaw produced by
motor 3. Refer figure 3.2d, the motors will always be tilted at a slight angle
to counter yaw in VTOL mode. During fixed wing mode motor 3 is not
used so reaction forces are balanced refer section 3.4.3.2.

Figure 3.19 Ideal Tricopter Configuration (Dimensions in mm)

38
 Figure 3.20 Modified Tricopter Configuration (Dimensions in mm)

3.5.3 Thrust Required for VTOL

For fixed wing flight it is sufficient for a Thrust to Weight ratio of 0.5, but
for VTOL, T/W ratio must be above 1.5. The VTOL system must be able
to lift its own weight and the weight of the airframe, this is where the
effectiveness of EMAV comes into play. More about this in section 3.6.1.3.
For now let's assume the VTOL system has to lift a total weight of 1800
grams, thus in order to have a T/W ratio of 1.5, the motors must be able to
supply 2700 grams of thrust, which breaks down to each motor supplying
around 900 grams of lift. From table 3.5, it can be seen that for the motor
being used with the APC 9045 prop, 900 grams of thrust are produced at
12.5 amps, therefore the motors-propeller combination can provide
sufficient thrust for VTO. Note that in VTOL mode Thrust ≥Weight, and
zero lift is being produced, the thrust supports the weight.

39
 Table 3.5 Motor Parameters [27]

3.6 Fixed Wing and VTOL Integration

This section will deal with the integration of the two systems into one
versatile airframe with the help of a tilting mechanism

3.6.1 Motor Management and Tilt

3.6.1.1 Vertical Take-off Mode
During VTOL mode all three motors are used to provide thrust needed for
take-off. Motor 3, is permanently vertical (90𝑜 ). Motors 1 & 2 if not
already vertical during take-off will also be tilted to 90𝑜 . Motors 1 & 2 can
also tilt past 90𝑜 to upto 105𝑜 to provide yaw, as in figure 3.2d. The tilt
mechanism is designed to cover these angles as explained in later
sections. Control in VTOL mode is explained in section 3.2.1

3.6.1.2 Transition Mode

After the plane has reached a sufficient altitude, motors 1 & 2 will tilt to
an angle of 45𝑜 , and the plane will begin to accelerate forward till a speed
of 19m/sec is reached at this speed the wings will provide sufficient lift to
support the weight. After the transition speed is reached motors 1 & 2
will tilt to 0𝑜 and go into fixed wing mode.
40
3.6.1.3 Fixed Wing Mode
Instead of carrying additional motors for fixed wing flight, the use of the
tilt mechanism enables the use of the VTOLs forward motors 1, and 2 for
fixed wing flight. Motor M3 will shut down once transition speed is
reached, until that point it will continue to assist in lift. Motors M1 and M2
will be tilted at 0𝑜 with respect to the FRL during fixed wing flight, once
transition speed is reached.

3.6.2 CG Alignment of Fixed Wing and VTOL System

In order to maintain the CG of the fixed frame at ¼ Mac, the CG of the
VTOL system must be lined up with the CG of the fixed wing system as
shown in figure 3.21.

Figure 3.21 EMAV 2D Design (All Dimensions in mm)

41
3.6.3 Tilt Mechanism Design
The tilt mechanism is responsible for controlling all the flight modes and
various motor orientations required for these modes. The basic concept is
the use of a servo capable of 120𝑜 throw, and attach the servo arm via a
kinematic link to the movable motor mount. The detailed design will be
shown in the modelling section, for now the general concept will be
discussed.

3.6.3.1 Tilt Mechanism Geometry

Figure 3.22 gives a 2d diagram on the working of the tilt mechanism

Figure 3.22 2d sketch of tilt mechanism working (dimensions in mm)

Arm 1 is attached to the servo, and Arm 2 is attached to the motor tilting
mechanism. Arm 1 and 2 are connected via a kinematic link. Arm 1 moves
Arm 2 and in turn drives the tilt mechanism, it can be seen that Arm 1 is a
centimeter longer than Arm 2, this is done to provide more throw to Arm
2, this means for any deflection in Arm 1, the deflection experienced by
Arm 2 will be greater. This will however cause a loss in servo resolution.
It is suggested that reader go through references [28] & [29] for detailed
explanation.

3.6.3.2 Tilt Mechanism Torque Calculation

In order for the tilt mechanism to be able to move the motors which will
provide a maximum thrust of 1.3kg (table 3.5), and also taking into

42
consideration the friction it has to overcome, and the aerodynamic forces a
safe approximation of the force the tilt mechanism will need to move can
be made at around 5kg. The servos selected can provide a Torque of
13kg/cm. Since Arm 1 is at a distance of 2.5cm from the Servo (Figure
13
3.21) the force experienced at this position will be = 5.2kg (51N).
2.5

Now since the force of 51N is being applied at a distance of 1.5cm from
the axis of rotation of the motor tilt mechanism. It will in turn generate a
torque of 51 × 1.5 = 76.5𝑁/𝑐𝑚 or 7.79Kg/cm at the axis of rotation.
This value of torque will be more than enough to tilt the motors.

3.7 Summary
Thus all the aspects of the general design of the EMAV have been covered.
These Design calculations will be used for the modelling and fabrication
of the Aircraft.

43
 CHAPTER 4
MODELLING & FABRICATION

4.1 Introduction
This chapter will make use of the design and geometric calculations from
the previous chapter, to first model the airframe and then fabricate the
components. The various software packages used for modelling the
airplane, and the fabrication techniques will be discussed in the following
sections. The modelling and fabrication of the tilt mechanism will be
covered in detail.

4.2 Modelling
The software used for modelling of the Airframe and Tilt mechanism are
CATIA V5 - 6R2017 and AutoCAD 2018

4.2.1 Airframe modelling

The various components of the Airframe are modeled in CATIA V5, using
the Airframe geometric values. Figures 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 show the
individual parts of the frame namely the Horizontal tail, Wing, Vertical
tail, fuselage, and the Support booms respectively, Note that in Figure 4.5
the boom has a slot in the front portion, this is where the tilt mechanism
will be inserted and locked in place.

At this point in modeling the A-tail conversion hasn't been performed yet.
Refer to section 3.4.5 for A-tail conversion, and Figure 3.19 for A-tail
modelling. The completed model of the airframe without the tilt
mechanism is shown in Figure 4.6

44
Figure 4.1 Horizontal Tail Figure 4.2 Clark-Y Wing

Figure 4.3 Vertical Tail Figure 4.4 Fuselage

Figure 4.5 Support Booms

45
 Figure 4.6 EMAV Design Prototype

4.2.2 Tilt Mechanism Modelling

The tilt mechanism consists of 3 major parts these parts are modeled
individually and then assembled together

i) Frame Sides - Figure 4.7, which is the part that serves as the support
structure for the entire tilt mechanism. The cut out on frame sides is for
servo placement

ii) Frame Reinforcements- Figure 4.8, which are components designed to

slide into the slots provided in the Frame Sides, apart from serving as
spacers they also provide additional support and rigidity to the frame.

iii) Motor tilt mechanism - Figure 4.9, this is the moving part of the tilt
mechanism. It is responsible for the tilting the motors, it translates the servo
motion into rotational motion. This mechanism is placed between the frame
sides and held in place with a M3 60mm screw and secured by self-locking
nuts

46
 Figure 4.7 Frame Sides

Figure 4.8 Frame Reinforcements

Figure 4.9 Motor Tilt Mechanism

47
The fully assembled tilt mechanism and various tilt angles are shown in
figures 4.10 a, b, c and d. Note that during vectored yaw when one tilt
motor is at 105𝑜 as shown in figure 4.9d, the other tilt motor placed in the
other boom, will be at 75𝑜 , as shown in figure 3.2d. This arrangement
produces a yaw force.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 4.10 Various Tilt Angles (a) Fixed Wing Mode 𝟎𝒐 , (b)
Transition Phase 𝟒𝟓𝒐 , (c) VTOL Mode 𝟗𝟎𝒐 , (d) Vectored Yaw 𝟏𝟎𝟓𝒐

4.3 Fabrication
This section will cover the material selection and fabrication of the
Airframe and the tilt mechanism.

48
4.3.1 Fabrication of Airframe
The material used for fabrication of the airframe is laminated foam board,
the material is selected on account of its good strength to weight ratio.
Apart from this, laminated foam board is very easy to work with, and can
be folded and cut as necessary to make all the airframe parts.

4.3.1 Fabrication of Airframe

The material used for fabrication of the airframe is laminated foam board,
the material is selected on account of its good strength to weight ratio.
Apart from this, laminated foam board is very easy to work with, and can
be folded and cut as necessary to make all the Airframe parts.

4.3.1.1 Fabrication of Airfoil

The fabrication of the Clark - Y airfoil is performed by cutting out a
rectangular piece of foam and folding it over itself. With an inner spacer to
provide the required camber. The foam should be cut in such a way that the
dimensions after folding will match the geometrical dimensions of the
airfoil. The process can be seen in reference [30].

4.3.1.2 Fabrication of A-tail

The A-tail is cut, on a flat piece of foam to the required dimensions. The
45𝑜 bevel is made with a blade. This same technique can be used for
making the conventional rudder and horizontal stabilizer, provided they
resemble a flat plate.

4.3.1.3 Fabrication of Booms & Fuselage

The booms and fuselage can be fabricated by performing folds on the
foam as shown in figure 4.11.

49
Figure 4.11 Folding Laminated Foam to Make Airframe Parts [31]

4.3.2 Fabrication of Tilt Mechanism

The tilt mechanism is a dynamic part of the frame, it will be in constant
motion and will also have to support the thrust force produced by the
motor, and therefore 3 mm aeroply is chosen to fabricate the tilt
mechanism. Aeroply is aircraft grade light plywood. The tilt mechanism
made of aeroply weighed a total of only 100 grams. Aeroply is also easy to
laser cut, which is the fabrication method used for the tilt components, as
it provides precise cuts. In order for the parts to be laser cut the 3D CATIA
parts must be converted into 2d line art format. As shown in figure 4.12.

4.3.2.1 Fabrication of Frame Sides

The frame sides provide the basic skeleton for the tilt mechanism, with
reference to the CATIA files, the frame sides is drawn via AutoCAD in a
2d format, so the parts can be laser cut.as shown in figure 4.12a.The frame
pieces are engineered in such a way, that they inter lock into each other.

50
 (c)

(a) (b)
Figure 4.12 Tilt Mechanism 2d (a) Frame Sides, (b) Frame
Reinforcement, (c) Motor Tilt Mechanism

51
4.3.2.2 Fabrication of Frame Reinforcements
The frame reinforcements slide into the Frame Sides, and provide
additional rigidity and strength. They also help combine the two frame
sides, into a single part. With reference to CATIA files, the frame support
structures are drawn via AutoCAD in a 2d format, so the parts can be laser
cut.as shown in figure 4.12b.

4.3.2.3 Fabrication of Inner Tilt Mechanism

The Inner tilt mechanism is the part which is attached to the motors, and
produces the tilting motion. This part is directly linked to the Servo, and
every component of this part is designed to interlock into neighboring
parts, for maximum durability. With reference to CATIA files, the Inner
tilt mechanism is drawn via AutoCAD in a 2d format, so the parts can be
laser cut.as shown in figure 4.12c

The tilt rotor parts after laser cutting are then assembled and reinforced
with Cyanoacrylate, that bonds especially well with aeroply.

4.4 Summary
Thus the airframe and tilt rotor mechanism is fabricated, the entire EMAV
is now ready for the addition of the motors, ESCs, flight controller, power
system and other avionics

52
 CHAPTER 5
AVIONICS & ELECTRONICS

5.1 Introduction
In the previous chapters the entire frame and tilt mechanism has been
designed, modelled and fabricated. This chapter will deal with the
incorporation of various electronics like motors, electronic speed
controllers, servos, transmitter and receiver and also avionics like the flight
controller and GPS module.

5.2 Electronics
The electronics include the motors, ESCs, power system, tilt servos,
standard servos. The motor/ prop combination is first selected, after
which a compatible ESC is chosen to provide sufficient voltage and
current to power up the motors, after which a battery is chosen which will
provide the required voltage, and satisfy the current draw of all 3 motors.
Figure 5.1

Thrust Required

Motor Selection

ESC Selection

Battery Selection

Figure 5.1 Motor, Esc and Power System Selection Flow Chart

5.2.1 Brushless Motor

Sunny sky X2216 Kv1100 motors with APC 1045 props are selected as the
motor can produce up to 1100 grams of thrust at an amp draw of 16.4amps,

53
as seen in table 3.5. Also the motor propeller combination provide
sufficient pitch speed refer to section 3.4.3.1

5.2.2 Electronic Speed Controller

From table 3.5 it is seen that the maximum amp draw of the motor will be
around 21 amps, therefore a 30amp esc is chosen to provide a sufficient
safety margin. The ESC chosen will also be able to provide the required
voltage. ESCs converts the Dc voltage from the battery to an Ac voltage
which is used to power the motors that require Ac current to work, apart
from this the motor rpm is also controlled via ESC.

5.2.3 Power Supply

Gens Ace 3300mah 14.8volt 25c Lithium polymer battery is used as the
power supply. The battery will be able to supply 14.8 volt at 3.3 × 25 =
82.5𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑠.The maximum amp draw for an individual motor is 21 amps,
so for three motors the amp draw will be 63 amps, this value is well below
the maximum amp draw of the battery. Flight time is calculated by taking
the batteries capacity in amp hours (3.3 in our case), then dividing this
value by average amp draw of the motors and then multiplying this value
by 60,the amp will vary for various flight modes.
i) Amp draw for VTOL mode
For VTOL flight each motor must produce a thrust of 900 grams, see 3.5.3.
At this level of thrust the amp draw will be 37.5 amps for all 3 motors, with
this amp draw the total flight time will be around 7 minutes.

ii) Amp draw for fixed wing mode

For straight and level fixed wing flight at 20m/sec the total thrust needed
to balance out the drag will be 2N see 3.4.8, this breaks down to around 1
Newton of thrust per motor, which will be around 100 gram of
thrust/motor, assuming the thrust required will be around 200 gram per

54
motor, then the amp draw will be 3.4 amps, with this amp draw the total
flight time will be around 35-40 minutes.

5.2.4 Tilt Servos

Two Bluebird BMS-630MG servos that produce 13.0kg-cm of torque at
4.8Volt are used. The servos have an operating PWM range between 900 -
2100𝑚𝑠, where 900𝑚𝑠 corresponds to zero deflection, 1500
𝑚𝑠 corresponds to medium deflection and 2100𝑚𝑠 corresponds to
maximum deflection of 120𝑜 . The servo are powered via the flight
controller.

5.2.5 Standard Servos

Standard 9g servos are used for operating the control surfaces. Four of
these servos are used for operating the various control surfaces, 2 servos
for ailerons and two for the A-tail. These servos are also powered via the
flight controller.

5.2.6 Transmitter / Receiver

A 2.4 GHz TX/RX is used for primary aircraft control, and a 433 MHz
telemetry link is used for control via ground station. The receiver must be
placed away from the servos and flight controller, to avoid servo jitter.

5.3 Avionics
The avionics system include the flight controller, and the GPS system.
They work together to control EMAV both manually and also provide
autonomous flight. This section will discuss in detail about the various
onboard avionics and provide a brief explanation on their working.

55
5.3.1 Flight Controller

5.3.1.1 Pixhawk V 2.4.8 32-bit

The flight controller used is the Pixhawk version 2.4.8 a complete
specifications list can be seen at reference [32]. The Pixhawk is chosen as
it supports Arduplane version 3.6.0 and above, this version of Arduplane
supports tilt rotor implementation. It also has in built redundancies
implemented into the architecture, and safety features like RTL, which will
autonomously fly the plane back home in case of TX/RX failure.

5.3.1.2 Control Architecture

The flight control system consists of Manual modes which enable the
airplane to be controlled directly via the radio, it consists of automatic
modes which fly the airplane autonomously to predetermined way points
and can be programed to perform various missions, apart from this it also
incorporates safety modes like RTL, and Emergency Land which will bring
the airplane back home autonomously or land in the case of it unable to
return home.

The control architecture in Autonomous mode adopts a time scale principle

consisting of a navigation loop, an attitude loop and the mixer as shown in
figure 5.2. The estimator uses Kalman filter algorithm that uses the onboard
sensors like gyroscopes, accelerometers, compass, airspeed, GPS and
barometric pressure measurements to estimate position, velocity and
angular orientation of the EMAV. The estimator sends this information to
each loop.

The navigation loop is responsible for the navigation of aircraft in

autonomous mode. The position control loop takes global position and
current position as inputs and outputs the attitude and thrust vector to the
attitude control loop. The actuators take the inputs from the attitude control,

56
and make the necessary changes on the attitude and heading of the
airframe. The sensors detect the change in attitude, airspeed, and GPS
location and sends this information to the estimator and the loop continues.
For readers that are interested in control architecture and complete
algorithm the Pixhawk uses, refer to reference [11], [33], [34]

Figure 5.2 The control structure. Pc, Ac, and Tc represent the
position, attitude, and thrust command, respectively. Vc represents the
virtual control command. FW represents the fixed-wing mode. PWM:
pulse-width modulation [11]

5.3.2 GPS Module

U-blox Neo-M8N GPS module is used. The GPS module is connected and
powered up via the Pixhawk. The module used comes with an inbuilt
compass, and a GPS accuracy of 3metres.

5.4 Pixhawk Wiring & Setup

This section will deal with the wiring of all the electronics to the flight
controller board. Refer figure 5.3a and figure 5.3b

i) The peripherals like the GPS, Telemetry are connected to the default
ports as shown in Figure 5.3b
ii) Now refer figure 5.3a, the receiver is connected to port 1

57
iii) The Main outputs and Auxiliary outputs can be programmed to control
the ESCs tilt servos, and standard servos. The Port setup we used is show
in table 5.1.

The remaining ports can be programmed to open and close the payload bay
via a Servo. Now in order for Pixhawk to recognize to which port the
various electronics are plugged into, it must be programmed via Ardupilot,
this step can be skipped for conventional fixed wing and rotors as Ardupilot
comes pre-programed for these setups, but for exotic setups like EMAV
the Pixhawk ports need to be programed and configured to support the
various electronics. This is done by modifying the ServoN_Parameter for
individual ports. After complete mapping, the port setup chosen is shown
in Table 5.2, Note that this will vary for different setups and custom tuning
must be done See reference [35], for programing and mapping the ports.

Figure 5.3a Pixhawk Side Ports [32]

58
 Figure 5.3b Pixhawk Peripheral Ports [32]

Table 5.1 Port Connection to Electronics

Port Number Electronics

Main 1 Aileron Servos
Main 2 Right A-tail Servo
Main 4 Left A-tail Servo
Main 5 Esc attached to M1
Main 6 Esc attached to M2
Main 8 Esc attached to M3
Auxiliary 3 Left tilt servo
Auxiliary 4 Right tilt servo

Table 5.2 Port Programing & Mapping

Port Number SERVO Function

Main 1 (SERVO1_FUNCTION) 4(Aileron)
Main 2 (SERVO2_FUNCTION) 79(Right A-tail)

59
 Main 3 (SERVO3_FUNCTION) 0(idle)
Main 4 (SERVO4_FUNCTION) 80(Left A-tail)
Main 5 (SERVO5_FUNCTION) 33(Motor 1)
Main 6 (SERVO6_FUNCTION) 34(Motor 2)
Main 7 (SERVO7_FUNCTION) 0(idle)
Main 8 (SERVO8_FUNCTION) 36(Motor 4)
Aux 3 (SERVO11_FUNCTION) 75(Left tilt servo)
Aux 4 (SERVO12_FUNCTION) 76(Right tilt servo)

iv) Once all the electronics have been connected to the Pixhawk, the entire
system can be powered up. The power distribution circuit is similar to that
seen in reference [36].

5.5 Summary
Thus the Avionics and Electronics have been incorporated into the EMAV
and it is ready for the testing phase.

60
 CHAPTER 6
TESTING

6.1 Introduction

In the previous chapters, the fabricated structural components including the

tilt mechanism is integrated with the various electronic and avionic
components such as the flight controller, motors, servos etc. The current
chapter deals with the various tests that are performed to ensure that the
EMAV meets all of the requirements established in the previous chapters
and is able to achieve vertical takeoff and landing along with transitioning
into forward flight.

6.2 Pre Flight Testing

6.2.1 Verification of C.G Location

As established in chapter 3, the C.G location should be located at ¼ Mac
to perfectly balance the aircraft. During verification, it was observed that
slight modifications with regards to the placement of various components
were necessary to position the C.G at the required location and after
making those adjustments, the aircraft was perfectly balanced.

6.2.2 Control Surfaces Testing

After establishing a two-way binding between the radio transmitter and the
receiver, the control surfaces were tested for effectiveness. Initially the
standard 9g servos used for operating these control surfaces along with the
two Blue bird BMS-630MG tilt servos suffered from persistent jittering
which was at the time attributed to the radio and telemetry systems being
placed too close to the servos along with the servos not being properly
calibrated. After hours of adjusting and experimenting with the flight
control parameters related to the servos and appropriate placement of the
radio and telemetry systems, we were able to overcome these issues and

61
the control surfaces began to properly respond to the transmitter control
inputs. Moreover, the individual control surface throws as established in
section 3.4.6.2, were tested with the help of a custom built servo tester and
adjustments were appropriately made to the servo-min and servo-max
parameters in Arduplane servo functions until the necessary throws were
obtained.

6.2.3 ESC calibration

After testing the control surfaces, we began calibrating the ESCs to make
sure that all of them run at the same speed when given the same input. The
process for correctly calibrating the ESCs was followed as per the
Arducopter documentation [37].

6.2.4 Tilt mechanism Testing

The tilt mechanism is initially tested with a servo tester to ensure that the
tilting setup works as expected. The servo minimum parameter which
positions the motor mounts horizontally is adjusted till 0 degrees is reached
for fixed wing mode. Also, the servo maximum parameter which positions
the motor mounts for vertical flight is adjusted to enable tilting up to 15
degrees beyond the vertical axis for yaw control during hovering which in
a conventional tricopter is only possible by either tilting the rear motor or
using yaw servos. However, a correction factor of 15 degrees must be
applied to the Q_TILT_YAW_ANGLE parameter to prevent the motors
from tilting beyond 90 degrees unless yaw control is necessary. After
adjusting the parameters, the tilt motors with the propellers attached were
run at full thrust and the tilt mechanism was tested with the flight controller
for various flight modes and it was deemed satisfactory according to the
requirements.

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6.3 Initial Flight Testing

6.3.1 VTOL Mode Testing

During the initial testing phase which lasted more than ten trials, we were
faced with many challenges regarding stability and control which forced
us to make minor modifications to our setup such as reducing the propeller
size from 10 inches to 9 inches, reinforcing the rear motor arm to overcome
excessive vibrations along with higher battery capacity and fine tuning of
the flight controller parameters. Further manual tests after modifications
resulted in successful vertical take-off, hovering and landing. The EMAV
vertically taking off and hovering is shown in Figure 6.1 and Figure 6.2
respectively.

Figure 6.1 The EMAV Vertically Taking off

Figure 6.2 The EMAV Hovering

63
This gave us the confidence to go forward with the flight test on
autonomous mode, which was also successful.

6.3.2 Forward Flight Testing

Finding success in the initial flight tests of the EMAV’s VTOL mode, the
fixed wing mode was tested by flying the plane as a conventional fixed
wing aircraft, without a VTOL take off, but by a conventional hand launch,
the plane responded well to control input after some control surface
trimming had been done. The EMAV in forward flight mode is shown in
Figure 6.3.

Figure 6.3 The EMAV in forward flight mode.

6.3.3 Transition
The first transition test was performed by the taking the EMAV to a
sufficiently high altitude via VTOL mode, and then the mode was shifted
to forward flight, it was observed that transition is smoother when the
motors where tilted at a constant down rate of 12degrees/second, instead
of waiting for transition flight speed to be reached at 45 degrees. The
transition tests were successful after making this change to the flight
control parameters. For transition back up to VTOL mode the motors are
tilted at an up rate of 45 degrees/second, this ensures that the plane can
quickly transition back to VTOL mode in case of an emergency. The

64
EMAV performing a transition in mid-air and executing a forward flight is
shown in Figure 6.4 and Figure 6.5 respectively.

Figure 6.4 The front motors of the EMAV tilting forward for
transitioning as captured by an onboard camera.

Figure 6.5 The EMAV after transitioning successfully to forward

flight

65
6.4 Conclusions from Testing
The tests proved that the EMAV can vertically take off, perform a
transition in midair and execute a forward flight and cruise back towards
the destination and upon reaching the target, the rotors tilt back to the initial
position for vertical landing.

6.5 Summary
In this chapter, various tests were performed to ensure that the Emergency
Medical Air-Support Vehicle (EMAV) was able to successfully meet all of
the requirements and objectives established in the previous chapters.

66
 CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION

7.1 Introduction
The EMERGENCY MEDICAL AIR SUPPORT VEHICLE has been
fabricated and test flown. The UAV takes off vertically and transitions to
forward flight successfully. Due to the VTOL configuration, the EMAV is
extremely mobile and can take-off and land in confined spaces, this feature
enables it to be quickly deployed and operate under emergency missions.
The EMAV is able to carry blood bags up to 350ml and also carry items
such as snake anti-venom and vaccines.

EMAV does not depend on assisted take-off systems, which need

additional infrastructure, an air strip, and cover large areas. Also the startup
procedure which takes a long time in other configurations is considerably
shortened and it was observed that deployment during emergency medical
missions could be done in seconds.

7.2 Limitations of EMAV

The motors chosen (refer 5.2.1) required a lot of amp draw for maintaining
a sufficient propeller pitch speed to achieve a forward velocity of 20m/s in
fixed-wing mode which greatly reduces the flight time.

The VTOL configuration described in section 3.5.1 loads the rear motor to
a slightly greater extent (i.e. it has to support slightly more weight)
compared to the front tilt motors.

The EMAV is built out of aeroply and foam and during flight trials, it was
learnt that due to a lack of toughness and usage of adhesives, the structure
of the drone deteriorates on every landing.

67
Also it was learnt from the flight tests that an independent cargo bay would
be more suitable for carrying the payloads instead of accommodating them
in the cavity at the front of the aircraft.

7.3 Future Enhancements and Conclusion

The above mentioned limitations can be overcome by future enhancements
which include:

1. Using a higher RPM motor such as Sunny Sky X2216 KV1250 to

provide the same propeller pitch speed at a lower amp draw.

2. Following the conventional tricopter setup for vertical takeoff instead of

the current setup (refer 3.5.1).

3. Modifying the design to accommodate an independent cargo bay for

carrying additional payload weight.

4. Using lightweight yet strong materials such as carbon fiber and fiber
glass composites for the entire airframe structure to provide greater
rigidity, lesser structural fatigue and to deliver heavier payloads.

If the success rate of using EMAVs for medical delivery purposes is high,
then the advanced versions of them can be deployed for organ transport
within the city, as organ transportation is very risky due to a limited time
frame. An advanced EMAV can undertake such missions very effectively
rather than relying on dedicated green corridors which might not be
possible or viable on congested roadways and disrupt normal everyday
traffic.

68
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